In Aqaba, the stones do more than preserve the past they recount an unbroken chapter of Jordan's history, stretching from the earliest days of the Islamic state to the modern Hashemite Kingdom.
اضافة اعلان
Within the walls, streets, and marketplaces of the ancient Islamic city of Ayla lies the story of a land that has served for millennia as a crossroads of civilizations, a hub of trade, and a beacon of tolerance and cultural diversity, making Ayla one of the most significant landmarks in Jordan's national narrative.
Maher Al-Amareen, Director of Antiquities in Aqaba, told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that Ayla was the first Islamic city established outside the Arabian Peninsula following the Muslim conquest of the Levant.
This distinction gives the site exceptional historical and cultural importance, as it represents an advanced example of early Islamic urban planning and served as a major commercial and strategic center linking the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, and East Africa. For centuries, it played a vital role in regional economic and cultural prosperity.
Al-Amareen noted that Ayla is among Jordan's most significant archaeological sites because it illustrates the emergence of carefully planned Islamic cities and reinforces Jordan's historical narrative as a land that has long embraced civilizations, religions, and cultures while playing a pivotal role in human history.
Archaeological excavations have uncovered a rectangular city enclosed by fortified walls and defensive towers, alongside an organized network of streets, markets, homes, and workshops. These discoveries provide valuable insight into the economic and social life of one of the Red Sea's most important urban centers during the early Islamic period.
He added that Ayla occupied a strategic position along international trade routes, receiving caravans from the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen, Egypt, and the Levant while maintaining strong maritime links across the Red Sea.
This made the city a vibrant center for the exchange of goods, ideas, and cultures between East and West for several centuries.
Dr. Sawsan Al-Fakhri, an archaeologist and researcher specializing in Aqaba's antiquities, told Petra that Ayla is far more than an archaeological site; it is a living historical record that reflects an essential chapter of Jordan's national story.
Throughout history, Jordan has stood at the heart of regional civilizations, serving as a gateway for commerce and a platform for cultural and human interaction.
She explained that Ayla was the first purpose-built Islamic city outside the Arabian Peninsula, underscoring Aqaba's strategic importance from the earliest days of the Islamic state.
The city connected the Levant, the Hejaz, Egypt, and the Red Sea, developing into a major commercial, maritime, and economic center that linked the Arab East with the wider world.
According to Al-Fakhri, Ayla also embodies Jordan's historical continuity by connecting successive civilizations from the Stone Age, Edomite, Nabataean, Roman, and Byzantine periods through the Islamic era, and ultimately to the Great Arab Revolt and the establishment of the modern Jordanian state.
This continuity highlights Jordan's enduring civilizational role across different historical periods.
She added that Ayla also reflects the early foundations of political and administrative organization, as it housed a fortified administrative, military, and commercial center on the Red Sea coast, demonstrating that Jordanian territory has long been instrumental in state-building and regional stability.
Beyond its architectural and archaeological significance, Al-Fakhri said, Ayla also played an important intellectual role.
The city hosted a renowned school of Hadith studies, while the distinguished Islamic scholar Imam Ibn Shihab Al-Zuhri owned an estate there and taught a number of Ayla's scholars, who later spread their knowledge throughout the region.
This, she said, illustrates Jordan's historical contribution to the production and dissemination of knowledge.
Al-Fakhri further emphasized that Ayla's history sends a powerful message about coexistence.
The Islamic city developed alongside the neighboring Byzantine settlement without displacing it, offering an early example of peaceful coexistence and economic and social integration.
She noted that this tradition traces its roots to the treaty concluded by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with John ibn Ru'bah, the ruler of Ayla, which established principles of security and protection for the population, commerce, and maritime navigation.
She added that Ayla functioned as an international transportation hub and a key stop for trade caravans, pilgrims, and Red Sea shipping routes a role that echoes Jordan's continuing mission today as a pillar of security and stability in the region.
Al-Fakhri concluded that highlighting Ayla within Jordan's national narrative conveys a powerful message to the world: that the modern Jordanian state is built upon a continuous historical legacy, and that safeguarding historical memory is essential to building the future.
Ayla remains a living testament to a nation that has, throughout history, played a central role in trade, scholarship, tolerance, and the advancement of civilization.
